Bear News – June 27, 2022

Ted naps, Holly flirts and interns are finished with introductions.

Bear Weights:
Ted 565 lb., Lucky 440 lbs., Holly 269 lbs., & Tasha 320 lbs.

Bear fact: “Bears have large brains in comparison to body size. They have excellent navigational abilities and long-term memories. They can generalize on a simple concept level. Read more about Senses and Abilities on our website.

I have seen Lucky staring at the fence between his pen and Tasha’s. I’m curious… is he thinking he can get over that fence by standing up and launching himself at the trees in her enclosure?

Ted’s big adventure day. Ted didn’t use much energy today. He was in the overflow pond (creek) then napped. He reappeared for enrichment and enjoyed a “bearcicle slurpee” as visitors watched. After his slurpee was finished, he again went back to the cool canopy of the trees and napped. The hair under his chin has grown back and he’s sporting a goatee. He’s so handsome, maybe no one has noticed his goatee.

Tasha seemed to be avoiding the scale. She walked past it on Monday and went directly to the overflow pond, however we were able to get her on the scale Saturday and she weighed in at 320 lbs. She stretched herself out and cooled her core. She has given us some cute videos of which have been shared on our Facebook page.

Holly has been “flirting” heavily with Lucky, yesterday he followed her out of the cabin den and onto the mound. The mating ritual was very apparent as they moved further into the woods.

Lucky is interested in Holly. Little Tasha waits for another year as he advances and moves towards Holly. He continues to entertain himself and guests in the pond. He was seen pulling reeds and then chasing the ducks as he thrashed the reeds back and forth in his mouth. He ate apples, moved the logs again and then did a few laps and chased the ducks thrashing the reeds at them.I can now share pictures of our six bear educator interns. They were all initiated by cleaning Ted’s den and the bunkers. It is our yearly intern initiation. Kevin came after the dens were cleaned so his initiation was to clean and help organize the tool shed. It’s not quite the same but the other interns gave him a break.

This year we are excited to have two Northwoods Ecology Hall interns. Their tasks are to educate visitors by telling them how the black bear coexists with smaller mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They are also trained to help with Behind-the-Scenes tours. Intern Brynn is holding a garter snake, June Bug, while intern Dee talked to a group about the tiger salamander, Sofie. Along with the garter snake (Thamnophis) and tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum), the Ecology hall has a painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), fish, frogs and toads. We are proud of our intern program and our interns.

On Friday afternoon Scott found a Luna Moth (Actias luna) it was unable to fly. Many of our visitors were in awe of its delicate beauty. Our knowledgeable interns showed it and then released it on the cedars.

Thank you to everyone for donating bear foods from our Amazon Wishlist, it will remain up through the summer. The bears enjoy nuts and dried fruit on a daily basis.

Thank you for all you do,
Sr. Bear Keeper, Sharon Herrell

2022 List of Updates